Faee box construction



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Nov. 11, 1947. A. MAIN FARE BOX CONSTRUCTION 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Oct.2l, 1944 /lIllIllIMIl/IllIl/IIIIM l 4 m nvVENToR. Fnnnaw Mam PatentedNov. 1 1, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,430,473 FARE BOXCONSTRUCTION Andrew Main, Cleveland, Ohio Application October 21, 1944,Serial No. 559,692

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in a fare box of the type used inbusses and street railway cars.

One of the objects of the present invention is to so construct the boxthat it is substantially tamper-proof, that is to say, money cannot bepilfered from the locked compartment of the box without detection.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novelconstruction involving the box top, the inspection plate, and theinspection windows.

Other portions of my invention have to do with details of construction,all of which contribute to the utility or ease of construction of myimproved box.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a central sectional view taken vertically through a boxembodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 2 2 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 1

Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional view taken along the line 4 4 of Fig.2;

Fig 5 is a fragmental sectional View, enlarged, taken along the line 5 5of Fig. 3; while Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken along theline 6 6 of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, I providea one-piece housing Ill which might be a casting or the like but which Ihave illustrated as formed of sheet metal welded together so that thereare no screws, bolts, or other fastening devices accessible on theoutside of the housing. This housing is divided into a lower lockedcompartment II and an upper fare-receiving compartment I2 by means ofthe inspection plate I3 and its .coacting frame I4.

Other than the inspection plate just mentioned, there is a single lockedopening providing access to the compartment II This comprises the door IGa which extends the entire width of one of the end walls of compartmentI I, this door` being pivoted on the hinge I5 which extends the entirewidth of the compartment Il. is provided with wide flanges Iilb as bestseen in Figs. 1 and 6. These flanges are at right angles to the doorproper and lie close against the outer face of the side walls I I a ofthe compartment II. These ilanges Iiib and the side walls IIa overliethe ends of the hinge pin I5a as best seen in Fig. 3. This preventstampering with the hinge pin to unfasten the door at its lower edge.When the door is closed as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, the

The door 2 upper edge of the door fits snugly beneath a heavy strip ofmetal I6 which is welded t0 the wall of the box across the entire widththereof just above .the door. This prevents the inserting of a prylbeneath the upper edge of the door.

The locking means for the door comprises keyoperated tumblers located inthe housing Il on the outside of the door, and the keeper portion of thelock I8 housing the keeper or throw I8a is secured on the inner face ofthe door Illa by means of screws I9 which pass through the door lilainto the member I'I for securing the latter also. It results from thisconstruction that I can fasten the housing I'I in position during thepainting of the box while omitting the portion I8 at this time. Laterthe screws I9 are removed and the member I3 positioned in its properplace with the assurance that the operating parts for the keeper arefree of paint.

Positioned on one of the inner walls of the compartment II is a cup 2l!fixed in position and opening at the top only. In this cup is thetelltale ball 2I. If an operator turns the box upside down in an attemptto shake out money, the telltale ball will be found loose in the lockedcompartment to give evidence of tampering.

In the upper compartment I2, I have provided a novel constructioninvolving the top 22 of the box, the inspection windows 23, and theinspection plate and frame I3, I4.

Generally, four inspection windows 23 are provided as shown in Fig. 2,and for this type of construction, the housing IJ is cut away leavingonly the L-shape corner posts I0c as best seen in Fig. 2. Obviously, thewall for the upper cornpartment I2 could `loe-solid between any pair ofthese corner posts without aiTecting my inven tion as applied to thesides where the windows are provided.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, shoulders Illa are provided on the upper,outer walls of those sides of the rectangular frame I4 which are toreceive inspection windows, In the present instance, all four sides areso constructed. The top cover 22 is provided with a downwardly-extendingflange 22o around the four sides thereof adapted to overlie the cornerposts IBC. Spaced inwardly from the flanges are ears 22h adapted to lieinide the top of each inspection window, there being two of these earsfor each ,window as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Preferably, these ears areso spaced from flange 22a to permit the introduction of a pad 24 ofrubber or the like to cushion the Window at this point, Four long screws25 are provided one at each corner of the frame I4.

Each of these bolts, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, passes upwardly throughthe frame I4 and is threaded into a boss 22e on the top cover.Preferably, a spacer sleeve 26 is provided around each screw to limitthe action of the screw drawing cover 22 toward the plate Ill so as toinsure against any overstraining of the glass windows 23 when thesescrews are tightened. However, these sleeves 26 are not absolutelyessential because careful construction of the corner posts IIlc willalso limit this movement.

It will be noted from the above description that when the windows are inposition, they are overlapped on the bottom and two vertical sides bythe posts Ic and along the top by the cover Vflange 22a. On the inside,the windows are held by the shoulder Ilia at the bottom and by the ears22D at the top. The windows are of such a width that they extendsubstantially to the corner sleeves 26 so that there is no room todisplace the windows sideways. It will be noted from this constructionthat windows are easily inserted or replaced when broken; they arealways safely held and yet they are under no strain such as often causesbreakage or windows of this type.

The inspection. plate i3 has two downwardlyextending ears I3a which lieopposite two downwardly-extending ears Idb of the frame III. Throughsuitably bored openings in all of these ears passes a shaft 2l which isshort enough to pass between the inner faces of the walls of the housingI as best shown in Figs. 3 and 5. It will be noted in Fig. 3 that theshaft stops short of the wall of the housing in the left end, and itwill be noted in Fig. 5 that the shaft is out off short of the wall ofthe housing at the right end and is there provided with a shortextension means to pass through the wall of the housing, This extensionmeans comprises a short screw 28 which is held in the handle hub 29a bymeans of a pin 3U. The handle hub has a sleeve flange 29h which fitsover the end of shaft 2l'. This sleeve 2917 has diametrically-opposedslots 3| which embrace the opposite ends of a pin 32 whichpasses'through shaft 27. Thus when the handle 2'9 is screwed into thethreaded opening of shaft 2'! which receives screw 28 after which pin 32is inserted, the inspection plate may be manipulated in the usual manneras the ears l3nt are pinned through shaft 2l by the pins 33. Double coilsprings 34 are wound around shaft 21 with one end fixed by bendingaround ear Idb and the other end lying beneath the inspection plate soas to normally hold the plate in its closed position.

It will be noted that the above-described construction of shaft 21 holdsthe right-hand end of frame I4 (as viewed in Fig. l) in fixed relationto the housing Il) when the screw 28 and handle 29 are in the positiondescribed in Fig. 5. The lefthand end of frame I4 (as viewed in Fig. l)is held in fixed relation in housing ID by means of two bosses 35integral with frame I4 and extending downwardly therefrom to overlie I-shaped brackets 3G welded on the inner side walls of the housing.Screws 3? pass through the brackets into the bosses. It results fromthis construction that to disassemble the upper portion of the box,screws 3'! must be removed, and handle 29 and screw 28 must beunfastened from the end of shaft 2l as shown in Fig, 5 after which thetop cover 22, the frame I4, and the inspection windows may be liftedupwardly away from the box.

I provide means for preventing the shaking of coins or the like outofthe box if the same should be turned upside down. On each side of theslot 38, through which fares are inserted in the box, I mount a flappermember 39 which is hinged at 40 to a projecting ear on the cover. Theseflapper members are so hung and counterweighted by the upstanding ears39a that they normally hang substantially vertically as shown in Figs. 1and 3, but on turning the box upside down, they fold over the slot 38preventing the escape of coins at this point. The deflector plate 4I ofinverted V-shape just below the slot 38 is a standard means for makingit difficult to remove fares from the box through the slot 38,

What I claim is:

1. In fare box construction, a housing closed at the bottom and sidesand open at the top, an

inspection plate dividing -said housing into a lower locked compartmentand an upper fare-depositing compartment, a locked door in said lowercompartment, an inspection window in said upper compartment, a top coverengaging a top portion of said housing for closing the top of saidhousing and said upper compartment, a portion of said top coverembracing the top of said window, and means securing said cover to saidhousing and holding said window in place, said means and housingcoacting to limit the pressure of said cover on said window.

2. In fare box construction, a housing closed at the bottom and sidesand open at the top, a frame having a central opening, an inspectionplate movably mounted on said frame for closing said opening, said frameand plate dividing said housing into a lower locked compartment and anupper fare-depositing co-mpartment, said frame being movable out of theopen top of said housing, means inside said locked compartment securingsaid frame to said housing, a top cover for closing the top of saidhousing, an inspection window in said upper compartment and held inplace by said top cover, and securing means for said top cover attachedto said frame and accessible only in said locked compartment, said framesecuring means being independent of said top cover securing means.

3. In fare box construction, a housing closed at the bottom and sidesand open at the top, a frame having a central opening, an inspectionplate movably mounted on said frame for closing said opening, said frameand plate dividing said housing into a lower locked compartment and anupper fare-depositing compartment, said frame being movable out of theopen top of said housing, a top cover for closing the top of saidhousing, a twopart operating member for said inspection plate secured tosaid plate and secured to said frame nearer one end thereof, saidoperating member having a part held in said frame and movable out of theopen top of said housing with said frame, said operating member having aremovable part extending through a wall of said housing, the inner endof said removable part operatively engaging said frame-held part, meanssecuring said top cover to said frame, and means nearer the other end ofsaid frame and inside said locked compartment for securing said frame tosaid housing.

4. In fare box construction, a housing closed 'at the bottom and sidesand open at the top, a

frame lhaving a central opening, an inspection plate movably mounted onsaid frame for closing said opening, said frame and plate dividing saidhousing into a lower locked compartment and an upper fare-depositingcompartment, said frame bei-ng movable out of the open top of saidhousing, a top cover engaging a top portion of said housing for closingthe top of said housing, there being an opening through a Wall of saidhousing at the top, an inspection Window inside said housing andoverlapping the edges of said opening,

said cover and frame engaging said window at 5 REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,499,904 Bell et al July 1,1924; 1,534,163 COX ADI. 21, 1925

